Canadian Family looking for some fosicking fun.

[CanFam]

Hello everyone,

I have been reading this forum for the last six months and we have final arrived here in Australia. We are currently in Surfers Paradise for the next 3 weeks and then we start our road trip up to Cairns and then back down to Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania over the next 4 months.

My family has a great fascination with gems and minerals, we have already been to the thunderbird park and found some great thunder eggs and stones. We would love to do a lot more fossicking, but since we don't know the areas its hard to locate.

Any suggestion would be great.

My kids are 10 & 12 and love to dig.

 

[RM Outback]

G'day CanFam welcome to Australia and PA most importantly make sure your legal by having the State appropriate licences. I'm in Victoria down here you'll need a Victorian Miner's Right someone from QLD and the other states will hopefully steer you in the right direction. For a Victorian Miner's Right you can purchase online from the appropriate Vic Gov Earth Resources website. Give us a heads up when your heading this way and someone should be able to organise a catch up and show you a spot or two.

 

[CanFam]

Hello,

And thanks for the heads up, we just got our family permit for NSW. We are planning on going on a small trip in the next few days to find some Labradorite.
We will be getting our QLD in the next day or two once find a few spots.

We will definitely drop a line to get a catch up.

Thanks

 

[Wally69]

Welcome, Queensland has some great tourist information centres, look out for a sign with a blue i as you head through some of the towns and drop in to get your hands on some gemstone and fossicking information and maps.

A slight :lol: detour inland on your way to Cairns may be worthwhile. You will find a slight detour in OZ can be significant. :8

NSW has some great locations along the New England Highway and once again, the roadside tourist information centres have lots of info available.

Make your interests known along the way to anyone towing a caravan, most will know or have heard of something of interest on their travels.

Good luck with the adventure

 

[Leafs]

Welcome to OZ ! Let us know when your in Vic. Maybe I can help you out . ( Are you a ice hockey fan? )

 

[nucopia]

Once you get your post count up over 10 posts you can access the members area of the forum and also send and receive PMs
When you get down to Newcastle NSW head west through Singleton Musslebrook and out to Nundle ..for Gold and semi precious gems..
You can also post on the forum that you are in aparticular area and Im pretty sure there will be members that will be happy to point you in the right direction or show you around..
:Y:

 

[CanFam]

Hi everyone and thanks

I will definitely drop a line once we get in certain areas, should be around November December

We went fossicking in Hogarth mountain rand for labradorite and fount about 10 good 10 cent size ones and about 1000 smaller ones, had a great day, back is killing me but had fun. I will upload some pics shorlty

And yes we are big hockey fans!!

 

[pagan prospector]

hi Canfam welcome to the island of oz those blokes on that side of the island only know the manly art of rugby league or gridiron without the suits the best bits of oz are the middle and west as long as you skirt around the bottom bit of south oz cos there is nothing here anyway really hope you enjoy your stay
geoff

 

[Simmo]

Hey CanFam,
There's heaps that can be found online, or very simply drop into the local mines department. They are usually so helpful in steering you in the right direction and the good spots!!!
I have this on file.....

http://www.treasureenterprises.com/gold prospecting information/Gold_Occurrences_in_North_Qld.htm

 

[pete165]

Hi
Welcome to Oz. My sister and her husband just toured your country. Lots of lovely places to see. Hope you have a great stay here in Oz. Depending on how much time you have there are places like Anakie in Qld where sapphire and other gems are found. Also in NSW there are places like Oberon , Grabben Gully and others where you can find Gems. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Jaros]

Welcome to P.A.-GOOD LUCK.

 

[CanFam]

Good evening everyone.

Is there any tricks to posting pictures? I cant seem to do it from my phone

 

[CanFam]

Hello Everyone,

First off I would like so say that this is an awesome country and my family & I are having a great time. We finally got back down to the Sunshine Coast so I thought I would give an update on our finds.

Casino - Labradite, good day digging and found lots

Tamborine - Thundereggs, found a bunch but the digging wasn't fun.

RedCliff - Magnetite and my first agate, great day on the beach. The kids loved playing with magnets, my agate was pretty cool.

Obrien's Creek - Wow..... is that off the beaten track, had a great day, way too hot!! Found about 9 topaz.

Cobbold Gorge - An amazing place!

Agate Creek - OMG what an amazing place!! We only had two days there, but what time we did have there was amazing. I could only have imagined what it would have been like 30-40 years ago.

Misc finds - Mon Repos near Bundaberg, three agates on the beach

Alexandra Headlands - Petrified wood on the beach, we found what looks like a log embedded in the sandstone??

I would post some pics, but it wont let me

We only have two months left in our vacation, but we wont be going too far inland as we make our way down the coast to Melbourne. I have convinced the wife to go to Glen Innes to look for some sapphire. If anyone know any good places, not too far from the coast please let me know.

We are also heading to Tasmania so I might be able to sneak another fossicking trip if anyone knows of a few good places.

As we are in the Sunshine Coast this week we are going to hit the Nambour GemFest

Thanks again

 

[Dave79]

Hi guys, plenty of fossicking in Tassie. Crystals, pyrite galena and serpentine in the Northwest, sapphires, topaz and zircons in the northeast.
Best agates and petrified wood in the south and a few goodies in between. Good luck

 

[SWright]

G'Day CanFam

Let us know when you are likely to be coming my way and I will take you out to our favourite gold fossicking site. I am on the border of NSW and Victoria on the highway between Sydney and Melbourne. Place called Albury Wodonga (twin cities on either side of the border and the river). We have one of the best family friendly places in the country for prospecting. Always gold and if you find the right place gems. Called Reedy Creek at Eldorado Victoria. Search the forum there is a lot of stuff there. Great places to stay at Beechworth or camping on the creek. Bring a couple of pans is practically all you need.

Araluen

 

[Gimp]

Big smokies in Ewingar south west of Hogarth, great camping at the forestry hut, easy digging in sandy rainforest crystal clear creek.

 

[Gassman]

Hi welcome to Aust... sounds like you're having great fun...I thought I would just say to watch out for snakes whilst you're moving through the bush.. summer is almost here and there on the move
..good luck with your fossicking and take care...

 

[WhiteyCQ]

Welcome CF

 

[CanFam]

Hello,

Sorry for the late reply to some of yo, we had to leave the country as per our visa. Thanks for the heads up on the snakes.. the wife is deadly afraid of them and has been on watch making all the loud noises and smacking the ground when we forage around. we have come across a few so far.

Thanks for the heads up Gimp on the smokie quartz.We will be driving through Ewingar area on the 5th of Nov, on our way to Glenn Innes. Do you have some good locations on where to look for smokie quartz? We have never been to the area and there isn't much details online. The wife is scared to randomly walk around because of the snake. Thanks

Dave79, thanks for the heads up for the info things in Taz, I have been doing a lot of research on it. I have decided to extend our stay there for a few more days to try our luck fossicking there.

Thanks

CanFam